90% of leading mortgage products available direct

Nine out of ten leading mortgage products are available direct from lenders, moneysupermarket.com has reported.

The comparison website suggests that the financial turmoil of the last couple of years has turned the UK mortgage market on its head and that the days when mortgage brokers had the pick of the best deals are gone.

The firm’s head of banking, Kevin Mountford, comments: “Due to the lack of supply and high demand, lenders can take full advantage of the current situation rather than having to push their products through brokers, which they previously relied on.”

Mr Mountford also warns that anyone using a mortgage broker needs to be aware that the range of products offered may be limited.

He therefore suggests that advice from an intermediary should form part of the shopping around process, rather than be relied upon as the final word in choosing a home loan.

The message is at odds with new figures from unbiased.co.uk, which has just reported a 24% year-on-year rise in the number of consumers seeking “whole of market” mortgage advice.

In the first six months of the year, the professional advice website received over 45,000 such enquiries, with potential first-time buyers leading the surge.